Coming Soon to a Location Near You (If You Are Near Anchorage)

Here comes the next telehealth seminar. It's Parkinson's and music therapy. Learn how music is being used as therapy to address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs. It will be presented by Bill Dluhosh, MT-BC Music Therapist. The broadcast can be seen here in Anchorage on January 9, at 1:00pm, Look for this event in room 2401 at 1:00 p.m. in the Providence oncology wing. Go to the second floor walk down the lonnnnnnnng hall that stretches South from the cafe and look for room 2401 pretty much at the end of the hall on your right, not far from the statue of Mary in the nook at the end of the Hall. We will have our regular meeting on the 20th, fifth floor of the Pioneer home, 3:30, subject to be announced.

Reworked Page, Trying to Get Blockbusting, Brawling , Sprawling Parkinson's "Graphic Novel" Right

What was the problem with the page I posted yesterday? Too much talking and too little showing. We graphics novel author wannabes are supposed to trust the picture as a narrative tool. And besides, bouts of dyskinesia aside, drawing is fun. So I went back, took out some words and put in some pictures. Et voila! One page became two. Then I showed them to Pam who had some constructive criticism. So I went back and reworked them again. I'm trying to bear in mind the words of economist J.K. Galbraith, who said (quoting from memory here) "The note of spontaneity that people praise in my writing always emerges in the fifth draft."

Zap! Pow! FZZZZZT!! Daring UFO rescue of Parkinson's Patient. Pushing Ahead With the PD Graphic Novel

If Parkinson's Disease does nothing else, it certainly adds drama, No? Click on the image to enlarge.

He Won't Get Far on Foot...

(Click on photo to enlarge) Just as I reached my car to depart for home after finishing up a segment of a radio show, I noticed that I had left a story in my tracks. The tracks in the foreground right, heading away from my camera are the prints I made going in. The set of tracks on the left, after spending an hour and a half inside the building, are the later tracks I made as I returned to my faithful Subaru. Anything strike you as odd about them? How about this: The stride on the left is about half as long as the stride on the right. Yet both were made by the same person. Holy festination Holmes, the poor blighter was entering an "Off" state as he walked back to his car! His medications were sputtering out and his ability to move freely through space is literally vanishing before our eyes! The early steps show him enjoying an "on" state, with his medications putting the cut in his strut and the glide in his exuberant stride. But the return steps tell of a world of neurological woe. As John Callahan said "He won't get far on foot".

Comicization of a (Relatively) Recent Post

I now have about 50 of these pages done. Sort of getting the idea. I plan to start on a major new part of the story, the brain surgery I underwent about year and a half ago. Still trying to figure out the angle I will take. I'm thinking something along the lines of "Super-intelligent beings come back from the future to patch me up".

The December Parkinson's Report

Hello Friends, This is your rundown on PD events that I know of for December in Anchorage. MONDAY the 12th will be the Telehealth presentation. The talk will be by PD psychologist Dr. Darelle Volweiler, who will offer advice on getting the best of holiday stress. Look for this event in room 2401 at 1:00 p.m. in the Providence oncology wing. Go to the second floor, walk down the lonnnnnnnng hall that stretches South from the cafe and look for room 2401 pretty much at the end of the hall on your right, not far from the statue of Mary in the nook at the end of the Hall. Our Support group will meet the 17th at 3:30 for our annual holiday potluck. Bring something delicious to share. In the meantime, enjoy this festive time of year, and do your best to not fall down.

Thar She Blows: Another Peek At My Graphic Novel Manuscript

Here is a page that owes a debt to the stark illustrations that Rockwell Kent created for an elegant edition of Moby Dick. An artist with wanderlust, Kent actually spent some time in South Central Alaska. He lived for a period on Fox Island in what is now Kenai Fijords National Park. It's hard to imagine someone with a greater ability to strike the proper tone for Melville's novel than the rugged Kent, who would have felt right at home with the rigors of a whaling voyage. As it turns out, there is inspiration for those of us that have PD in Melville's book as well.

Another Panel From a Book Struggling To Be Born: The Tortoise

This sums up how I often feel about having Parkinson's Disease. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is aboard an ancient incarnation of slow.

Comic Sonogram, Another Exclusive Look at a Book Stuggling to be Born

Here is yet another snippet from the proposed Great Parkinson's Graphic Novel currently in pre-beta mode at PDS Labs. These are two panels abstracted from a passage on Parkinson's vocabulary. These illustrate the form of depression which I suffered, known as "Emotional Incontinence". Depression is way more common in Parkinson's Patients than in the population in general, but the incidence in both populations is expected to spike dramatically higher if this project ever sees print.

Yikes! A scary New Page

Parkinson's, to paraphrase a well-known quip, is not for sissies. It's not for dummies either. Here is the most recent page in my attempt to adapt this blog into a brawling, sprawling blockbuster graphic novelesque look at Parkinson's Disease. We are up to page 36, I'm guessing the final length will be about 100. Your feedback welcome!